Reactivity of 2,3-Dichloropropene in free-radical copolymerization reactions

The copolymers of 2,3-Dichloropropene with vinyl chloride, methyl methacrylate, and styrene of different compositions were obtained via free-radical copolymerization. The copolymerization constants for the comonomers were found from the dependence of the copolymer composition on the initial mixture content. An increase in the content of 2,3-Dichloropropene in the initial mixture was found to decrease the yield and intrinsic viscosity of the copolymer for all systems. The reactivity of 2,3-Dichloropropene in copolymerization reactions was assessed according to the reciprocals of the copolymerization constants of vinyl chloride, methyl methacrylate, and styrene, which indicate the reactivity of the dichlorinated monomer when interacting with comonomer radicals. It was found that 2,3-dichloropropene is the most active in the reaction with a styrene radical. However, its reactivity with a methyl methacrylate radical decreases by a factor of 0.88 as compared to the styrene radical. The lowest reactivity of 2,3-Dichloropropene is observed when interacting with a vinyl chloride radical. The synthesized copolymers can be further modified by replacing chlorine atoms with functional groups.